Rep review findings out April 12 07.doc>>

Local Government Commission agrees with regional council’s proposed representation arrangements, 14 councillors to remain, eight constituencies

The Local Government Commission today released its determination on the councillor representation arrangements of the Canterbury Regional Council, Environment Canterbury, for the October 2007 elections.

“The determination aligns with the council’s proposed recommendation except for one change: the South Canterbury and Waitaki constituencies will be combined into one constituency. But the representation by two councillors will continue for that area,” said ECan chairman Sir Kerry Burke. “This result is a triumph for the council’s proposals which were firmly based on our understanding of the law regarding local government representation so it’s good to see they’ve been upheld.

“The Local Government Commission’s findings endorse the consultation put in by councillors on this issue over the past 18 months and their willingness to find a solution which gave every voter in our region as equal a representation around the council table as any other, with the exception of the Waitaki constituency, which was significantly over-represented on a population-based formula.”

Sir Kerry pointed out that the new South Canterbury constituency, which would be served by two councillors, would combine ECan’s existing constituencies of Waitaki and South Canterbury. This still over-represented its constituents by 25 per cent, but would be welcomed by the council. “ECan’s Southern Area Committee is meeting in Timaru on Monday and the topic of enhanced delegated authority for South Canterbury after this year’s election will be of interest to many people.”

The chair of ECan’s representation review committee, Cr Robert Johnston, was also pleased at the commission’s result and agreement with the council’s proposal. “The key elements of this decision are that we have retained 14 councillors, whereas there had been suggestions to reduce councillors to 13, 12 or even 9. And there are six councillors representing Canterbury outside of Christchurch. So any disaffection that rural interests may have should be tempered by this positive consideration.

“The decision underscores the fundamental point that for regional councils, regional functions are the main concern, not district council boundaries. The decision clearly and concisely explains the reasons for its conclusions and encapsulates the major points made by submitters, appellants and the council. It shows the commissioners spent an immense amount of time considering all the alternatives to the council’s proposal before reaching their measured and balanced conclusions.”

The Waitaki constituency was the area with the most significant over-representation in the council’s proposed structure with one councillor representing just 12,300 people, compared to the South Canterbury councillor who represents 43,100 voters. The Waitaki constituency was the largest proposed exception to the plus or minus ten per cent rule for guiding local government constituency representation in New Zealand, representing a 67 per cent over-representation of councillor to constituents.

The Local Government Commission commented that although it agreed with the council that the Waitaki Valley area “encompasses a distinct community of interest” it also pointed out the close relationships between people living in Waimate and Timaru and between people living in the Mackenzie District with Timaru as well as Fairlie, the Mackenzie District’s main centre. As well as this, it noted: “Many residents of Timaru have strong rural interests, and social and business connections with rural communities.”

More than 360 submissions were received during the council’s consultation on the new representation arrangements, most of these coming from Waitaki District constituents urging the retention of a separate Waitaki constituency.

Other constituency borders proposed by the council were accepted by the Local Government Commission which rejected a number of arguments about communities of interest from submitters, including a combined group of district councils led by Ashburton District. In some cases, the Local Government Commissioners agreed with submitters but found their case was either not compelling enough to make a change to the proposed arrangements, or to do so would create a snowballing effect with significant other problems of over and under-representation in other constituencies.

For example, the commissioners pointed out that the addition of parts of Belfast and Styx to North Canterbury constituency was an acceptable change to the mixed rural-urban area. “We do not accept that residents of the areas surrounding and including Kaiapoi and Woodend have stronger commonalities of interest with the residents of Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs (all part of the North Canterbury constituency) than the residents of the Belfast and Styx areas do.”

“The combined district councils got it wrong but we need to move forward together now in the common interest of Canterbury region,” said Sir Kerry.

For more information:Sir Kerry Burke, Chairman Environment Canterbury, 03 365 3828 (wk), 03 355 8104 (hm) or 027 542-5848, or Cr Robert Johnston, Chairman ECan Representation Review Committee, 03 312 4166 or 027 228 0830 or to read the full Local Government Commission determination go to < http://www.lgc.govt.nz/lgcwebsite.nsf/Files/CanterburyRC2007/$file/CanterburyRC2007.pdf> or the ECan webpage home page will also have a link later today- www.ecan.govt.nz

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